A deadly flesh-eating disease is sweeping Syria – caused by ISIS dumping bodies in the street.

The bug, known as Leishmaniasis, is caused by protozoan parasites and usually carried by flies.

More than 500 people were affected by mid 2014, but it that number is believed to have dramatically risen.

Dilqash Isa, head of the Kurdish Red Crescent, said: ‘As a result of abominable acts by ISIS that included the killing of innocent people and dumping their corpses in streets, this is the leading factor behind the rapid spread of Leishmanisis disease.’

The World Health Organization has warned that Syria’s health system has collapsed under five years of war.

‘We did not have knowledge about this deadly disease before,’ a Syrian Kurdish fighter told news agencies. ‘We have been fighting on the battlefield for almost four years and this disease basically generated from embattled areas of Tal Hamis, Hon and Qosa,’

Britain joined US-led air strikes against Islamic State in Syria on Thursday.

British Tornado jets took off from the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus before dawn, hours after parliament in London voted 397-223 to support Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan to extend air strikes from Iraq to Syria. Britain said they struck oil fields used to fund Islamic State.

‘There are plenty more of these targets throughout eastern, northern Syria which we hope to be striking in the next few days and weeks,’ Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said. Britain would send eight more warplanes to Cyprus to join the missions.

The British contribution forms only a tiny part of US-led Operation Inherent Resolve, which has been bombing Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for more than a year with hundreds of aircraft.

Previously, the Britain participated in strikes on Iraq but not Syria.